The Extremes are Our Living Spaces

Everything in moderation. Unfortunately, we're not a people of moderation. We're not a people of balance. Nothing is balanced. Nothing is moderate. We eat ourselves sick on Thanksgiving Day and overdraw our account the following. Nothing is evenhanded. We are not a people of self-inflicted restraint.

Where does this lead us? What are the consequences? I fear many would say it means we’re fat and lazy. True. But not all are in excess. We don’t eat in moderation; meaning, sadly, some of us don’t eat. Some of us sleep in, some of us work through the night. Some gorge, some starve. Some over-spend, some are over-stingy. The extremes are our living spaces.

I find this true within myself. Just last night, I found myself eating too much ice cream with the girls on my floor. Is ice cream wrong? Heaven forbid! But over done, gluttony reigns. So, where do we stop? How do we balance? What do we do about our fat and anorexic and tired and rich and stingy selves?

We need a category for “no”, I believe. We need a means, a method to deny ourselves where we have always heard “yes”. We need a scene in which we allow our Lord to tap our shoulder and say, “Enough”. Everything in moderation. Unfortunately, we're not a people of moderation. We're not a people of balance.